NOTRE DAME, Ind. - Saint Mary's College Volleyball fell to Elmhurst University on Tuesday night, 3-0. The Belles fall to 9-7 while the Blue Jays improve to 9-5.
Saint Mary's and Elmhurst also celebrated the Belles annual Morgan's Message game to raise awareness for student-athlete mental health.
Saint Mary's got out to a quick lead early in the first set, getting out to a fast 5-1 lead. Elmhurst bounced back and used a 9-2 run to get out in front. The Belles kept it close throughout the middle of the set before the Blue Jays controlled the end and used a 10-4 run to take the first set, 25-17. Sophomore
Shannon Rudge (Granger, IN) led the Belles strongly through the first set with six kills in the set alone.
The two teams traded points back and forth throughout the early portion of the second set, till they were tied up at nine. Elmhurst would stretch out to a short lead as they went into the media timeout and never looked back. The two teams continued to battle back and forth and swap points before the Blue Jays ultimately closed out the set 25-20 to take a 2-0 lead. Senior
Caroline Carens (Naperville, IL) put up five kills in the set to jump to eight on the match. Junior
Giuliana Graczyk (Chicago, IL) also jumped into double digit assists with 12.
Similar to the first set, Saint Mary's got out to a quick lead before Elmhurst bounced right back into it. The Belles took a five point lead right after the media timeout. The Blue Jays would then go on a strong 11-1 run to get out to a five point lead. While the Belles tried to bounce right back into it, the Blue Jays closed it out, 25-21, to take the win.
Carens led the team with 12 kills on the night while finishing with an impeccable .526 hitting percentage. Carens has finished with double digit kills in 14 of 15 matches this season. Rudge also finished in double figures with 10 kills, her third straight double digit match. Grayczk finished the match with a team high 16 assists on the night.
Defensively, sophomore
Molly Boyle (Palos Heights, IL) led the team with 10 digs. Freshman
Bridget O'Connell (Tinley Park, IL) led the team with two block assists and a solo block.
UP NEXT FOR THE BELLES
Saint Mary's will hit the road this weekend as they travel to Kalamazoo College on Saturday for their MIAA opener at 1pm. The Belles return home for the MIAA home opener on October 7 when they host Albion College at 7pm.
